


What's in a Name?

by sparkandwolf (thatnerdemryn)



Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Coda, Derek Hale is Bad at Feelings, Falling In Love, Introspection, Light Angst, M/M, POV Derek Hale, Pet Names, Pining, Stiles Stilinski is Worse, fluff adjacent, of sorts
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-26
Updated: 2020-03-26
Packaged: 2021-02-28 20:01:14
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,005
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23332783
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thatnerdemryn/pseuds/sparkandwolf
Summary: Whenever Stiles’ mouth opened, Derek didn’t know what was going to come out. It had him on edge at all times, an edge he was ready to leap off of the minute the right words came out, the words that Derek would attach to and hold onto forever. When Stiles started on the nicknames, he grasped onto them, hanging onto them every time, finding a new meaning behind each one. He was waiting, waiting for one time something was different.
Relationships: Derek Hale/Stiles Stilinski
Comments: 10
Kudos: 195





	What's in a Name?

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you [Morgan](https://skylar102.tumblr.com/) for your wonderful validation and rewarding me with Derek's internal monologue throughout this fic. If you're wondering, Derek is singing 'I CAN BE YOUR HERO BABY' in his head because he secretly loves Enrique Iglesias (and not so secretly loves Stiles). 
> 
> Enjoy!!

Derek knew he was in love with Stiles from the moment he opened his mouth and said something immature, possibly a dick joke, maybe even a dog joke. He wasn’t sure why he was so intrigued by the way Stiles would talk, laugh at himself, and then wiggle his eyebrows like he knew he was funny. Derek didn’t have the heart to tell him he wasn’t.

Derek wouldn’t admit that sometimes he was. 

Whenever Stiles’ mouth opened, Derek didn’t know what was going to come out. It had him on edge at all times, an edge he was ready to leap off of the minute the right words came out, the words that Derek would attach to and hold onto forever. When Stiles started on the nicknames, he grasped onto them, hanging onto them every time, finding a new meaning behind each one. He was waiting, waiting for one time something was different. 

He was Stiles’ ‘Sourwolf’ first. Sure, it wasn’t entirely flattering or even inaccurate, but that meant Stiles was aware of his demeanor, knew exactly what to expect out of Derek. That meant Derek could surprise him. And Derek had always been pretty good at surprises. He started by trusting Stiles, going to him when he was in the most pain he had ever been in, the wolfbane slowly making its way to his heart through his veins. He sought out Stiles under the guise of looking for Scott, but it was Stiles who held the saw to his arm, Stiles who punched him awake and saved his life, even if it less about the life being Derek’s. 

Then he was… Miguel. That one wasn’t his favorite, but he couldn’t pretend to not see the interest in Stiles’ eyes as he tugged on the shirt that barely fit over his chest. He had to push back his own thoughts of Stiles’ smell lingering in the fabric, his detergent never enough to wash it fully out, not to Derek. Stiles was using him as a pawn, for Danny, the one that Derek had heard Stiles mention before. The only other person in his school who seemed to be interested in men. Derek latched on to the word ‘other’ more than he would care to admit. 

He segued into the distraction. He sat in Stiles’ jeep outside of the police station and let his eyes linger on Stiles’ a bit longer than he intended and pretended not to hear the uptick in his heart. He flirted with the deputy he knew he would never have an interest in, but the jealousy wafting off of Stiles was all too much for him. Then, he was drowning, pushing Stiles away to distract the kanima from devouring this person he wasn’t willing to lose. He used his new role of distraction, to beat at Stiles with sarcasm and faux dislike until Stiles did exactly what Derek knew he would do, what he needed him to do, survive. It was a pleasant surprise that he saved Derek along the way. 

Then Stiles saw him as someone worth protecting. Almost everything in Stiles’ life was crashing around him. His father was taken, the most important person in his life was missing and Derek couldn’t help but blame himself. Scott’s mom was missing, too, taken by someone Derek had used to try and get over his feelings for Stiles. And Scott, the one other person Stiles trusted most in the world was allied with the villain. 

But instead of doing something stupid and rash and reckless, Stiles went to him, waking him up out of unconsciousness to get save him once again when he didn’t have to. “We gotta get you outta here, the police are coming right now, and we gotta get  _ you _ the hell out of here." 

“What about the others?” Derek had asked. The others, the important ones, the ones that meant something to Stiles. Derek didn’t mean anything to Stiles and he had accepted that after months of trying to be  _ something _ to Stiles. 

But Stiles just laughed, their fingers laced together, something Derek didn’t notice until Stiles leaned his forehead down and breathed in deeply. Derek had to shut his eyes, blocking out the sirens getting closer, the electricity surging above them, the distant sounds of growls and screams. All he could hear and feel and smell was Stiles. 

“I can’t do this without you, Derek. I need you.” That was what Derek had waited for since the first time Stiles opened his stupid mouth. He didn’t know it, but he was waiting for his name. The raw honesty, the small inclination that Stiles needed him as much as he needed Stiles, the slight waver in his voice and skip in his heart that told Derek he wasn’t crazy. It told Derek that he needed to get out of there, with Stiles, so he could become the fixture in Stiles’ life that Stiles had become in his. 

So he stood, his hand pulling at Stiles to lead him away from what they had to leave behind. Derek thought that moment changed everything for him. It was like he’d been striking a match, the spark dimming out every time he thought he heard what he needed, and finally, the spark ignited with just the sound of his name. Derek couldn’t stop the flames from raging, consuming everything that Derek was, everything Stiles made Derek want to be.

He would be the sourwolf to Stiles’ eternal optimism, would be his Miguel, with the hot body that had Stiles’ words stuttering uncharacteristically. He would be whatever distraction Stiles needed, a gentle caress, a light kiss, an all encompassing hug. Most importantly, he would show Stiles that he was worth protecting, worth giving up the small bit of safety they had in each other. And he would protect Stiles, because there was no doubt in his mind, from the first moment he heard him speak anything but his name, that he would look after Stiles in whatever way he could. 

**Author's Note:**

> I have a [Tumblr](https://sparkandwolf.tumblr.com) specifically for my Sterek obsession so feel free to follow it for updates and snippets and other Sterek content. 
> 
> Please feel free to send me prompts, coda ideas, or just scream with me about Sterek. 
> 
> Also, feel free to follow my [Twitter](https://twitter.com/thatnerdemilyj) and let me know what you think. 
> 
> Please, please, please let me know your thought in the comments and leave kudos if you enjoyed it!


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